Spools or reels are well known for transporting and storing bulk wire, cable and/or other wound material such as welding wire, electrical wire, bailing wire, and the like. A typical spool comprises a pair of disc-shaped flanges joined by a central barrel. Wire or cable is spirally wound around the central barrel between the spaced flanges until the spool is filled with the appropriate amount of material. Filled spools can then be stacked atop one another for shipment, storage and subsequent use. When it is desired to dispense the wire or cable, it may be pulled progressively from the spool, which may, for example, be mounted on an arbor or spindle to rotate and thus pay out the wound material. Other pay out methods include laying the spool flat on a flange and using a flyer payoff unit mounted that spins the wire off over the upper flange to pay out the wound material.
Spools used for holding welding wire are typically constructed of a generally cylindrical core or barrel, which can be made from a variety of materials and can come in a variety of different diameters and lengths. Attached at either end of the core are two flanges which are generally round and serve to retain the welding wire on the barrel. The flanges are generally constructed using a lathe which cuts them to shape and cuts a continuous groove on the inner face of both flanges to receive the barrel. The spool is held together by a series of through-bolts that run through drilled holes in one flange, through the barrel, and through drilled holes in the other flange.
The end of a continuous supply of welding wire from a welding wire manufacturing line or other source is then secured to the spool and the spool is rotated to wind the welding wire onto the spool. Once wound on the spool, the welding wire exerts a powerful spreading force against the flanges. This tends to cause the through-bolts to loosen, and can create gaps between barrel and one or both of the flanges and may permit the flanges to rotate relative to the barrel during winding and payoff of the wire. Further, gaps between the barrel and the flange are also created or made worse by differential shrinkage of the barrel and the flanges when the spool is heated, either by receiving the wire, which is often hot or by heat drying the spool before use. These gaps create problems when, as is often the case, the welding wire is of a relatively small diameter and can spread into the groove in the flange causing it to tangle during payoff of the wire from the spool to the welder. These tangles in the welding wire during use cause interruptions in the welding process and often require the user to scrap several pounds of otherwise good welding wire.